Just got word back that I was accepted to both UChicago and Vanderbilt! I am very excited, but now I have an extremely difficult decision to make. On one hand, I have always loved Vanderbilt. When I toured, it just felt right and I fell in love with Nashville and it’s nightlife. I have always considered myself a work hard/play hard type, so Vanderbilt’s fun-yet-academic vibe is a big draw for me, as well as its prevalent Greek life (I love Greek life) and sports (sports are big for me). However, my friend that currently goes there told me that his classes are easy (he’s majoring in the same thing I want to major in-Econ and HOD) and that he parties 4-5 nights a week, which sounds like a bit much. I was convinced that Vandy was my perfect fit, but now I’m not so sure. On the other hand, I’ve always thought that UChicago was wrong for me in all ways (I am not “quirky” or “nerdy” and wrote my Uchicago essays as if I was someone that I’m not), yet I know they have some of the best academics in the whole country, so I have mixed feelings. In addition, they also have one of the best econ programs in the U.S and TONS of nobel laureates, as well as the prestige factor (more so than Vanderbilt). Prestige is very important to me, and UChicago sounds like it would be more challenging than Vanderbilt, which could be either a good or bad thing. Another downside to UChicago, though, is its weather. I visited Chicago and could not tolerate the weather, despite coming from Colorado, which gets pretty cold and snowy. Nashville weather, on the other hand, seems pretty ideal. Lastly, and most importantly, is cost. Both UChicago and Vandy are affordable to me, since neither school looks at my noncustodial parent (thank goodness!) and I won a large outside scholarship. However, UChicago would be significantly cheaper for me than Vandy (depending on how they treat outside scholarships, it could actually be free!), a factor which has made me even more conflicted. UChicago is significantly more prestigious, affordable, and has better academics, but Vanderbilt seems like more of a fit. Which should I choose?
The way you talk about Chicago, I wonder why you even applied. This suggests you might not be too happy in Chicago. Usually I’d say Chicago (what else did you expect on the U of C forums), but if both are affordable, I suggest Vanderbilt - you’ll be living at your college for the next four years, and that’s a long time to live somewhere you don’t like.
My son had the same pick 3 years ago. Once the finances became even he picked UChicago. But he was not at all interested in sports and only mildly curious about frats. And he love the big city and the challenge of the winters.
It really does sound like Vandy is a better fit for you. If you get there and get involved with Greek life you will probably appreciate having easier classes. The thing about having the classes that are easier is that you can make adjustments to add challenge to your life–join a professional organization, ask a professor to do research, take a larger class load, find an internship in Nashville, volunteer, etc. If you get to UChicago and most of your free time is spent on academics and you find you really don’t have time for Greek life, or weekends that are mostly free time, etc there is really no way to change your academics to make them less time consuming. Have you looked in detail at the course requirements for each school? Econ at UChicago is VERY heavy in math. Do you love and excel at math? Are you prepared to go way beyond calculus? For the core classes at UChicago they are very heavy intellectual philosophical stuff no writing 101 or a light history type class. There are a lot of core requirements and almost none of them can be satisfied with AP tests.
Go to Vandy. You will seriously regret coming to Chicago…
@HydeSnark why is that?
And thank you all for the advice! I really appreciate the input
You gotta want the atmosphere of UChicago. And you pretty clearly don’t.
If you want an utterly SUPERB education that will really teach you how to think- Go to Chicago.
If you just want more of a good time in college- go to Vandy.
4 years from now you tell people that you went to Chicago- they will react quite differently - as in "Oh, wow! "than they would if you went to Vandy.
but if what you want in college is to be “comfortable”, rather than challenged ,Vandy is the place to go.
ElaineM - adding to my earlier comment. Part of choosing UChicago ( we are from the South) for my son was the challenge of swimming in the big Northern pond.
@ElaineM UChicago is not a school you want to go to for only the prestige. There is a lot of stressful work. The party and greek scene is relatively miserable compared to other schools. No one has any traditional school spirit or cares about sports. It’s cold - even in this year’s “mild” winter we pretty much had a blizzard yesterday. If that’s not what you want, that’s not what you want, and I really don’t think anyone can force themselves to like what they don’t.
There are people I know who could have written the exact post you did and who chose UChicago for the prestige. They’re pretty much unilaterally miserable. It isn’t worth whatever marginal increase in prestige you might think you’ll gain.
But here’s some more practical advice: tell Vandy UChicago is cheaper for you and you really want to commit but the cost difference is making it difficult. There’s a decent chance they might give you some merit aid to help even out the costs.
Are you saying you made up a ‘persona’ for your UChicago essays? Why would you do that?
How? UChicago decisions came out 3 weeks ago. Are you being taken off the waitlist?
Are they taking off the Waitlist? Why would you just know this now?
It sounds like you would be miserable at UChicago.
@goingnutsmom No I apologize for the confusion. I was accepted on March 16th I believe and was using “just” rather loosely. @ihs76 Yes, to some extent. I mean, I think the reason I got accepted was my main essay, which reflected my creativity and definitely felt like me, but in my “Why UChicago” essay I wrote more as who I thought they wanted to see than who I really am, which probably should have been a red flag to me while doing so.
Do you have any idea what you want to do after college?